Israel
has carried out another test of its Arrow-2 anti-ballistic missile
system by intercepting a live incoming target of a Scud type missile
fired from the Mediterranean in a simulated enemy attack, the Israeli
military has announced.

The "Scud" target, called the Black Sparrow, which has
been developed and produced by Rafael, was dropped from an Israel
Air Force's F-15. The Arrow-2 missile was fired from a site at Palmahim
Air Base south of Tel Aviv, after acquiring the target, and destroyed
it successfully. This was the first live test of the Black Sparrow.

The first battalion of the Arrow-2 system has already been deployed
in central Israel and the second battalion is proposed to be installed
near Israel's northern seaport city of Haifa, but has been delayed
by strong local opposition from residents.

In March Israel officially declared the Arrow-2 missile system
operational, making Israel the first country in the world to have
the capacity to defend itself against a ballistic missile attack.

The Arrow -2 system is a US-Israel joint venture and includes missiles,
launchers, radar and the command and control system. It has cost
over 1.3 billion US dollars to develop.

The system's early warning and fire-control system is designed
to acquire and track incoming missiles from a distance of 500 kilometres,
while its control and command system can guide the launches of the
interceptors and is capable of dealing with up to 14 intercepts
at a time.